


Discolored Bracelets

by OhanaHoku



Series: The Scars That Chain Me to the Past [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Abuse, Chains, Child Abuse, Day 15, Everyone Has Issues, Everyone Is Alive, Everyone Needs A Hug, Gen, Howard Stark’s A+ Parenting, Hurt Tony, Hurt Tony Stark, October Prompt Challenge, One Shot, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill, Scars, Short One Shot, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has Daddy Issues, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Whump, Tumblr Prompt, Whump, Whumptober, Whumptober 2019, shackles, soon to be series, whumpage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:14:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22595368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhanaHoku/pseuds/OhanaHoku
Summary: The Avengers have scars and so does Tony. They all lean on each other for support, but there are some scars Tony just can't show the others.orLate 2019 Whumptober - Day 15. Prompt: Scars.
Relationships: Bruce Banner & Tony Stark, Clint Barton & Loki, Everyone & Everyone, Howard Stark & Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers, Loki & Thor (Marvel), Tony Stark & Avengers Team
Series: The Scars That Chain Me to the Past [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1625857
Comments: 16
Kudos: 206





	Discolored Bracelets

**Author's Note:**

> So, I was originally working on Day 9 of Whumptober, trying to go in order, but this just fit more for day 15 and so here we are. Day nine will be a second part to this series. I may turn it into a full series or just leave it with the two shorts, not sure yet. Triggers are in the tags, enjoy!

Tony Stark, the great Iron Man, had many scars. Many were emotional and mental, but equal to them were the physical. He had some given to him by enemies (Read: Afghanistan & Obie’s Betrayal) and some from men who weren’t enemies, per se, simply profiteers (Read: Kidnappers Wanting Ransom).

Still, others were given to him by friends, accidentally (such as the time Rhodey accidentally pushed him into a rose bush) or on purpose (those were harder to forgive, but Tony couldn’t give up his friends, not even when what happened had been their fault).

Then there were those he gave himself (he was always burning his hands or cutting his fingers when he worked in his lab).

But the scars that bothered him the most were the physical ones that circled his wrists, a constant reminder of deeper emotional scars, and the reason behind some of his mental ones.

Approximately one point six seven inches wide were the scars that wrapped around his wrists, left from shackles that had bound him in a dusty, little-used room in the basement of his childhood home.

And who was it that chained him there? None other than Howard Anthony Walter Stark.

The man was known for having a quick mind, but it was less well known that he also had a quick temper, and his young son was his favorite target for his fists when he was angry. But as his anger grew worse along with his addiction to alcohol, his son also began to grow. Soon he was big enough to try fighting back, so Howard threw him into the basement, chained by his wrists, and held up against the wall where he could not resist as his father disciplined him.

But Stark men are made of iron. and his son never stopped trying to fight back, struggling against his chains until the metal bit into his skin and blood was running down his pale, thin arms.

Things changed when Tony went off to college, but the wounds never healed completely, leaving ugly scars behind. The young billionaire hid the marks. Long sleeves, make up, and eventually even synthetic skin to cover the disfigured flesh.

Years later, he was still hiding them. He’d grown comfortable in his skin, bearing his other physical and even some emotional and mental scars to the world. It helped that everyone in his little dysfunctional family had issues of their own. They’d built their trust up again after everything that happened, and they had learned to lean on one another for support.

Clint was no longer afraid to seek help when nightmares of Loki’s mind control plagued him at night. In fact, sometimes, the archer went to Loki himself for reassurance. (The God of Mischief had joined their team after much persuasion from Thor. It took a while, but Loki had been accepted as part of their family, fully earning their trust and trusting them in return.) And the archer had never been afraid to bare his physical scars, wearing them with pride.

Natasha spoke of the Red Room more freely, of the things she’d been forced to do against her will. The Black Widow had very few physical scars, but those she shared the stories of those as well.

Rhodey and Sam didn’t have as many issues as the others did, but they were always there to help the others when they needed it, providing their support and a non-judgmental listening ear.

Loki and Thor had both bared their hearts, telling their shared story and gaining a few scars along the way as they realized things about each other that they had not known before.

Bucky and Steve, too, had shared their stories. Both from back in the forties and what had happened after they’d been separated. Steve’s scars were mostly emotional, and though it was painful to talk about them, Steve had learned to communicate better. He also wasn’t ashamed to ask for a warm hug when the winter chills grew a bit too much to handle.

Bucky had more than his fair share of scars and took a lot of time to work through his issues to the point where he was comfortable sharing with anyone. But now he flaunted his marks as proof that he’d been through hell and back, wearing them with a dignity one wouldn’t have thought the Winter Soldier capable of.

Bruce had come out of his shell and spilled about his abusive father. Of course, Tony was proud of Bruce for coming forward and accepting help to deal with the PTSD. But it also made Tony jealous. Made Tony wish that he could come clean about the discolored bracelets he wore.

But he couldn’t. That was one secret that Tony had buried down deep, far too deep to ever uncover again without the rest of him falling apart. So no, he couldn’t tell them. He couldn’t even begin to say a word about it. Couldn’t muster up a single thread of strength to reach out for help. So he just buried the jealousy and the wishes down even further until he could listen to Bruce talk about his father without feeling the need to share his own experience.

He had lived decades without telling anyone, so what did it matter? He could live a few more decades with the scars on his wrists.

The scars chained him to the past, but maybe that was just so he wouldn’t get lost in the future.

**Author's Note:**

> Word Count - 912. Yup. This is a little rushed, so I may smooth it out later if I feel like it someday. For now, though, it's here to stay. Let me know what you think! Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day!
> 
> Check out my [tumblr](https://ohanahoku-ao3.tumblr.com/)


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